Smith & Nephew (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN), the global medical technology business, announces that Alan Johnson MP has today opened the new flood defences at its Hessle Road site in Hull.
In 2013, our Hull facility was badly flooded when the River Humber burst its banks, incurring damage across the entire ground floor, including in the manufacturing factory and office areas. We worked to ensure manufacturing for customers was re-established as soon as possible, and it was through great teamwork that the facility was able to recover quickly.
Smith & Nephew has since invested more than £3 million in building flood defences around the site to prevent a reoccurrence. The defences include the construction of two long sections of reinforced perimeter wall, with ramps and gates at the vehicle entrances. Water-tight flood doors have been fitted to all buildings on the perimeter and these buildings have also had their walls reinforced. Additionally, automatic valves have been installed in all of the connections to the sewers, in order to prevent any back-flow of contaminated water.
“We are very proud of our heritage in Hull and the site remains a major cornerstone of Smith & Nephew.” said Jonathan Procopio, Director of Global Operations. “We are bringing new programmes and products to Hull where we have a highly-skilled workforce. Protecting the future of the vital Hull site is very important to us.”
In Hull we manufacture some of the most high-technology wound care products on the market, including pioneering products such as PICO◊, our single use negative pressure wound therapy system. Since 2011 Smith & Nephew has invested approximately £50 million in capital projects at our Hull site. This includes moving the manufacturing of our complex silver coating technology for ACTICOAT◊ antimicrobial dressings to Hull and installing a Film Extrusion manufacturing line. This is bespoke equipment made for the manufacture of our unique film for a range of wound products, including ALLEVYN◊ Life advanced foam dressings.
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About Smith & Nephew
Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business dedicated to helping healthcare professionals improve people's lives. With leadership positions in Orthopaedic Reconstruction, Advanced Wound Management, Sports Medicine and Trauma & Extremities, Smith & Nephew has around 15,000 employees and a presence in more than 100 countries. Annual sales in 2015 were more than $4.6 billion. Smith & Nephew is a member of the FTSE100 (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN).
For more information about Smith & Nephew, please visit our website www.smith-nephew.com, follow @SmithNephewplc on Twitter or visit SmithNephewplc on Facebook.com.
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